Speed - Symmetric Speed is Key

The Speakeasy Speed TestFiber speed is a big deal; it is very, very fast of course, way faster than what you have now. Another important factor often overlooked, because those supplying network services to you today are pros at hiding an ugly truth, the speeds they provide you are not symmetric, they are NOT THE SAME BOTH WAYS. In the phone and cable kingdoms providing services to Americans today, upload speed is greatly limited. This fact is buried in the fine print of their agreements. Also never mentioned are all the THINGS YOU CAN DO if you have upload fiber speeds way above the 250 kbps or so capped by the cable guys and 756 kbps capped by phone providers.

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First, using Speakeasy, see how painfully slow your download speed is. Remember, download speed is what the kings of telecom advertise and essentially what you are paying for. If you find your speed slow now, try again during an Internet busy hour. That’s when you normally are doing your thing on the Internet; that’s when things slow down the most…maddening. Not so with fiber utilizing the point-to-point network planned for Palo Alto. Your reliable rocket speed experience will be the same 24/7/365.

But the real national tragedy is your current upload speed. Note how it is a small fraction of your download speed. Your Internet provider effectively ties one hand behind your back every time you use his service. This is unacceptable.

Definition of Broadband. America needs an Emancipation Proclamation for broadband. Anything less than symmetric speed is simply slavery. It must start with the FCC definition of broadband. The word “symmetric” cuddled up next to “broadband” will make all the difference for America. How can you tell? Watch the reaction by the kings of telecom when “symmetric” is introduced into the equation.

“I have a dream.” Martin Luther King made the point for people of color in 1963 that can be equally applied today to telecom networks. It is time for America to demand equal (symmetric) broadband speeds. Network improvements should start with making broadband speed equal BOTH WAYS.

Democratic Networks for America. Only when speeds are symmetric, reliable, and fast will we have democratic networks in America. The people must have an equal voice to the king.